Yzerman can relate to players cut from Team Canada

Steve Yzerman had a tough job as executive director of Team Canada for the Sochi Olympics trying to decide which 25 players to name to the roster on Jan. 7.

But Yzerman, who is also general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning, can relate to the players he had to cut, including Lightning captain Martin St. Louis. Despite being considered by many to be the third-best player of his generation behind Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux , Yzerman was cut by Team Canada for both the 1987 and 1991 Canada Cup tournaments.

In 1991, Team Canada coach Mike Keenan selected 18-year-old Eric Lindros ahead of Yzerman, even though Lindros had yet to play a game in the NHL. You can read a previous blog post about how Lindros’s rookie contract with the Philadelphia Flyers sent NHL salaries skyrocketing by clicking here.

Below is an article Red Fisher wrote for The Gazette after Yzerman was cut from Team Canada in 1991:

(Photo by Abelimages/Getty Images)

Keenan drops sharpshooter Yzerman

PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE ON SEPT. 5, 1991

RED FISHER THE GAZETTE

TORONTO – Centreman Steve Yzerman, as expected, is gone from Team Canada, so can either defencemen Mark Tinordi or Jamie Macoun be far behind?

Yesterday, Team Canada head coach Mike Keenan confirmed that the last remaining place on the 23-man roster will be filled by a defenceman. In other words, either by Minnesota’s Tinordi or Calgary’s Macoun, who weren’t dressed for the first two games of the Canada Cup tournament which resumes tonight against Team Sweden.

What that does, effectively, is leave Detroit superstar Yzerman without any hope of a job, so he’s moving on.

“It’s become apparent that we’re going to need a defenceman down the line,” explained Keenan, “and in order to be completely fair, we’ve decided to release Steve from the roster.”

Yzerman, who had 51 goals last season, had become increasingly disenchanted with his inactivity. He’d discussed the situation with Keenan on several occasions, including yesterday morning.

“This decision works out best for everyone,” Yzerman agreed. “As Mike said, we need another defenceman. I’d like to play in the tournament, and I’m not. I can’t accept that. Did I earn a job on this team? Everyone has their opinions … their beliefs. We don’t always agree.”

Yzerman doesn’t plan to join the Detroit Red Wings in training camp for at least another few days.

“I’ll ask Bryan (Detroit coach Bryan Murray) for a few days off before I come to camp,” he said.

“Steve has been honest and forthright in feeling he should be on the team,” said Keenan. “It’s not an easy process for anyone. When you put together a group like this, we don’t always make the right decisions. Neither do we make all the wrong ones. I’m sure that when I fill out the roster with either Tinordi or Macoun, there’ll be a difference of opinion there as well.

“This is a coaching decision. I’ve discussed it with all of the coaches, but there has to be a leader. The only reason for the decision is that we want to put what we feel is the best team on the ice.”

“It’s been a difficult situation for everyone,” Yzerman agreed. “It’s been frustrating for me, and difficult for the other players in the room, and for the coaches. The point is, I don’t want people to feel uncomfortable around me. I’ve thought about it a lot for the last few days. I was quite prepared to stay with the team until the last spot was filled, but it’s clear to everyone that it has to go to a defenceman.”

“Without naming names,” said Keenan, “we’ve got a couple of defencemen who are playing hurt. If one of them goes down, I wouldn’t want to be left with the prospect of playing short one defenceman for the rest of the tournament. The teams in this tournament are too evenly matched to start taking chances like that.”

The Yzerman situation has been part of a continuing soap opera. How can it be, people continue to ask, that there’s no room for a 51-goal scorer on a team that isn’t particularly strong offensively?

“It seems when you’re dealing with the quality of players we have here, there’s always some kind of distraction … always some controversy,” said Kennan. “All the coaches can hope for is to put the best possible team on the ice, and you can’t do that when you’re being distracted all the time.”

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.